ABB has been awarded Maturity Level 5 (ML5) certification for their Functional Safety Management System (FSMS) by TÜV Rheinland, an independent global certification institute in functional safety and cyber security. ML5 is an approach and concept applied by TÜV Rheinland considering and auditing high-level KPI performances. The TÜV Rheinland FSMS Certificate ML 5 is granted to the ABB Energy Industries division Safety Execution Centers (SEC) in Germany, Italy, Norway and Singapore, which provide safety support to high hazard industrial sectors.
Functional safety consists of the systems and processes that automatically protect people, assets and the environment if a facility or operation moves outside safe limits. In industrial settings, this is managed through Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), which are designed, engineered and maintained to bring operations to a safe state if risks are elevated.
ABB’s approach to functional safety follows international standards IEC 61508 and IEC 61511, ensuring that safety systems are fit for purpose, rigorously tested and maintained to perform reliably when needed.
Achieving FSMS certification based on ML5 by TÜV Rheinland means that ABB applies optimized processes and structures documenting compliance with the requirements of the related standard IEC 61511.
“ABB has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to functional safety,” said Wolf Rückwart, Area Business Field Manager for Functional Safety and Cybersecurity at TÜV Rheinland. “Through more than a decade, ABB has continually advanced its functional safety management systems in line with the related standard’s requirements. Achieving Maturity Level 5 for their Functional Safety Management System reflects ABB’s robust application and implementation of defined processes and structures.”
ABB’s SECs provide customers with local, competent functional safety resources for SIS projects and lifecycle needs, including operation and maintenance, design, engineering and retrofit work. ABB aligns its functional safety objectives with customer business goals, through an approach that uses performance data to deliver reliable outcomes and goes beyond compliance to anticipate future industrial safety and cyber security requirements.
“Safety is fundamental to the operational excellence of industrial operations, at a time of growing energy demand,” said Rinol Pereira, Head of Product & Technology at ABB’s Energy Industries division. “At ABB, our role is to help customers operate with confidence by combining automation, electrification and digitalization to reduce risk, enhance reliability and protect people and assets. This ML5 certification, achieved following rigorous assessment by TÜV Rheinland, demonstrates our leadership in functional safety today and our commitment to advancing the standards of the future.”
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